All I've Never Wanted(90)

“Her parents are extending their stay in Napa, and she’s decided to stay with me until they come back,” Carlo explained serenely.

By now, Roman was gripping his phone so tight he heard it crack a little. His stomach clenched painfully at the thought of Maya and Carlo. Alone. For two weeks. “Why didn’t she just stay here?” he hissed, even though he didn’t really want to hear the answer.

He could almost hear Carlo shrug on the other end. “She said she felt more comfortable staying with me. Can’t hog her all to yourself, you know,” he said jokingly, even though Roman did not find it funny at all.

He resisted the urge to reach through the phone and throttle his soon-to-be-ex-friend.

“Carlo? Who are you talking to?” Maya’s lilting voice in the background came through loud and clear. “Dinner’s here.”

A red haze formed before Roman’s eyes as he pictured them sitting together, eating a romantic dinner by candlelight.

“I’ll be right there,” Carlo called back. Speaking to Roman, he added, “Sorry, gotta go. I’ll see you later.”

Roman sputtered angrily as the other boy ended the call, a vein pulsing angrily in his neck.

“Dammit!” Feeling the need to break something, and violently so, he hurled his phone against the wall, not caring he’d paid almost a thousand dollars to customize it. It promptly shattered into pieces.

Later that night, Roman tucked his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling in his darkened room. He couldn't sleep. The hopefully imaginary scene of Carlo and Maya eating dinner, finishing dinner, kissing, and maybe even doing more , kept replaying in his head like a broken record.

He turned on his side, closing his eyes and willing sleep to descend. It didn't work.

Roman gripped the top of his comforter in frustration. How did that girl manage to stay on his mind even when she wasn't anywhere near him?

A hollow feeling spread in his stomach as he thought about the empty suite across from his. For some reason he'd always slept better, knowing she was right there across the hall.

The dinner image was instantly replaced by a memory of that night she'd ran into his room, screaming about the girl from The Grudge.

A small chuckle escaped his throat as he remembered how freaked out she'd been. She was pretty cute when she was scared.

Roman buried his face in his pillow, trying to push her out of his mind. It wasn’t until three hours later that he finally managed to drift off to sleep, a picture of a certain green-eyed brunette's face lingering on his mind.

CHAPTER 21

I’m in Hawaii.

Seriously, I’m in freakin’ Hawaii. I never thought I would get to visit Oahu, but here I am.

I have to say, being friends with the Scions did have its perks. Plus, at least I finally know what Adriana’s birthday present is.

“I can’t believe you guys flew us all the way out here for our birthday,” Adriana was saying, as Carlo checked us all in at the counter of the ultra-exclusive Halekulani resort.

“Yeah, well, we knew how much you guys loved Hawaii. We had so much fun last time we were here,” Parker explained with a grin, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

“Why does my sister get all the special treatment?” Zack huffed good-naturedly, his hair looking even blonder than usual under the lights.

“Why, you want a kiss?” I teased, feeling much better than I had all week. I mean, who could blame it? I was in paradise.

The past week had been pretty relaxing, with the exception of a few more run-ins with Rico at Carlo’s house and Roman at school. I tried by best to avoid both of them, sticking with Carlo, Venice, and Zack. Adriana and Parker had been in their own little world lately. I’d also started talking to James again, and I was glad he’d gone back to normal. He didn’t sound upset with me anymore, nor did he even hint he wanted anything more than friendship. It was a huge relief.


Of course, I was determined to leave all my worries behind, at least for this weekend. After all, I was in Hawaii. I didn’t even care that a certain violet-eyed boy was standing less than two feet from me, tapping furiously on his brand-new phone. He was probably texting Solange. Honestly, his old phone had seemed perfectly fine, but I guess rich boys liked to switch up their gadgets as much as they did their girls.

No. I’m not going to think about it.

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at Carlo as he walked over with our room keys, but my smile faded a bit when I saw the look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. He looked slightly upset.

“Uh, there was a bit of a mix-up with the rooms,” Carlo said apologetically.

Roman’s head snapped up. “What kind of mix-up?”

“Well, we have two suites and one smaller room—“

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to have?” Zack pointed out.

“Let me finish,” Carlo said patiently. “We have the Royal Suite, which has two bedrooms. That’s the one you, I, Parker, and Adri are supposed to be staying in. Then we have a single room for Venice, per her request, and one for Roman and Maya.”

“What?!” Roman and I shouted at the same time.

“What do you mean, one for Roman and Maya?” I asked furiously.

“I did not agree to share a room with him!” The thought alone made me want to jump right back on the private jet to Valesca, Hawaii be damned.